


In of Which They are All Gay Together

by MalaproposMongrel



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Alternative Title: In of Which Green Smooches Everyone, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Green doesn't know what the fuck is going on, I'm gay, Lots o smooches, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Shadow goes in depth about sexuality, She's very supportive, Zelda prophesizes how gay they are, blue is secretly a soft boy, gives green "the talk", green gets spooked twice in both gay encounters, not really - Freeform, they are all soft boys, tough soft boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 23:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13351314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalaproposMongrel/pseuds/MalaproposMongrel
Summary: The Links realize just how gay they all are, and decide the only option is to fortify their gayness into one big pile of homo.





	In of Which They are All Gay Together

**Author's Note:**

> this shit is almost 10,000 words. It was supposed to be 1,000 max. Leave it to me to get out of hand with the gay. enjoy 
> 
> warning: this shit is cheesy as hell.

Green was surrounded. He was absolutely outnumbered. Four to one. Ordinarily, these odds went undaunted in the mind of the hero. He would just draw his sword and use his amazing fighting skills to even the odds. Hell, he would even consider four to one a disadvantage for the opposing side.

However, this was not an ordinary circumstance. This was not the battlefield.

He was currently sitting around a campfire with his teammates, in front of the crude makeshift tent they would be using as shelter tonight. The sun was long set, Shadow had emerged from his world to join them for the night. A dinner consisting of wild cucco had been eaten, and the five Links were all relaxing before they went to sleep for the night.

Green was not relaxing.

He was left alone on one side of the fire, wound up from the lack of anything to do, annoyed from being ignored, and face red from both the heat of the fire and embarrassment.

Green was surrounded. By gays.

Blue and Red sat thigh to thigh, so close together they would be held legally reprehensible in Castle Town for public indecency. They were murmuring to each other, smiling and laughing, sometimes just resting their foreheads together, eyes closed, smiling blissfully. It made Green sick to his stomach. Who knew Blue would ever be this soft when love struck? You could practically see the affection pouring out of him for the red hero. Granted, it had taken about a year for him to be comfortable with even the smallest amount of PDA, and even then, he only let it happen around the other Links. Lucky them.

Then there was Vio and Shadow. Vio had finished his dinner first, having the smallest portion out of all of them. The second he finished he picked up the book he had been reading, and settled in. Soon afterwards Shadow appeared, materializing directly next to Vio. They exchanged quiet hellos, then Shadow plopped himself flush against Vio, snuggled up to him, lay his head on the purple clad shoulder, wrapped an arm around his waist, and began reading over his shoulder. Vio didn’t react much, but his little smile showed how pleased he was. Occasionally Shadow would whisper something, making Vio chuckle. Every time he achieved in making his stoic boyfriend laugh, he would practically glow with pride and affection.

If affection had a physical presence, Green would be suffocating in it. He already was, in a more metaphorical sense.

Eventually, he was pushed past his limit. He had been sitting in silent suffering for far too long (about five minutes?) and groaned out loud, making the other Links glance in his direction.

“You all are so disgusting!” Was the first thing out of his mouth. He saw Blue physically balk, like a cat fluffing up its fur.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” He growled, leaning away from Red.

“It means that you’re all slobbering all over each other, and it’s painful to watch!”

“Then don’t watch.” Shadow suggested dully, making Vio both smile in amusement and nod in agreement.

Green threw up his hands in agitation. “Come on! You’re all going to get soft if you keep acting all mushy gushy like this! All of this hugging and kissing nonsense, you’re becoming more lovers than fighters!”

“But,” Red piped up, looking thoughtful, “we’ve been fighting dark forces all day, and all day yesterday. And the day before that I think! Even though we’re heroes, we still need some time to recuperate. It’s healthy!” He smiled, looking at Blue. “And it gives us a reminder of what we’re fighting for.” Making the tough Link flush slightly.

Green sputtered a bit, unsure how to come back at that surprisingly good point. Instead, he attacked a different issue that had been bothering him but went unsaid for ages.

“Isn’t it weird to be dating someone with the same face as you?”

This grabbed their attention, even Vio looked up from his book. The four of them exchanged looks, as if they were considering an answer and running it by their boyfriends for approval. Then they all sort of answered at once.

“Not at all!” Red smiled.

“You sort of get over it.” Blue muttered.

“No.” Vio deadpanned.

“Why would it be?” Shadow laughed. Everyone quieted down, and Shadow added, “We’re really hot, you know.” Which aroused some soft laughter from the four of them.

Green was, once again, more outnumbered than ever. He reluctantly stood down, defeated by the overwhelming homosexuality. The four of them went back to their affectionate actions, and Green continued to be annoyed by the display.

Man, he really missed Zelda right now.

~~

Red woke up the next morning to the familiar shouts of a one pissed off Blue.

“YOU STEPPED ON MY HAT!”

“If you had placed your hat in the pile of clothes, I wouldn’t have stepped on it.”

Red smiled sleepily, closing his eyes. Vio and Blue served as his constant alarm in the mornings.

_“LIKE I WOULD EVER PUT MY CLOTHES IN THAT DISGUSTING HEAP!”_

“Would you please stop screaming, every bokoblin in the forest is going to know where we are and charge us.”

Red stretched, rolling over and sitting up. He threw the blanket off of him, and it hit another body, who groaned irritably. Red curiously looked at the mound, still muddled from sleep. Green was usually up before anyone, running off into the wild to train and hunt, missing Vio and Blue’s scheduled morning fracas. What was he doing here?

When Red blinked the weariness out of his eyes, he realized that the body next to him had a head of purple hair, not blonde. He perked up, pleasantly surprised that Shadow had decided to stay with them into the daytime.

“Shadow! Hey, wake up!” Red sang softly, giving him a few nudges. Shadow growled and moved away.

“Fuck off…” He muttered. Red chuckled.

“Come on! You’re missing the fun!”

Shadow relented with an overly dramatic groan, and sat up. His hair was wild and the circles under his eyes were more pronounced than usual.

“I don’t know why I keep on fucking with my sleep cycle for you losers…” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He took a few moments to blink awake, then looked towards the entrance to the tent, with Vio and Blue on the outside, still going about their silly argument.

“Hylia, how long have they been at it?”

“Not long,” Red smiled. “I think they just started, actually.”

Shadow crawled towards the entrance to peek out at the two Links, Red joining him.

“I COULD FIGHT OFF A HOARD OF BOKOBLINS WITH MY HANDS BEHIND MY BACK AND MY SWORD IN MY TEETH!”

“Fascinating story. Do you dream in color, Blue?”

Both of the peeping Links laughed as Blue screamed something unintelligible in fury.

“It’s cute how close they are, huh?” Red thought out loud, shooting a sideways glance at Shadow.

“No kidding.” Shadow agreed with a fond smile, eyes glancing between the two of them.

They remained quiet, letting the arguing heroes fill the silence, when Red spoke up again.

“Does it bother you?”

“Not at all.” Shadow answered instantly. He looked at Red, “What about you?”

Red grinned in response. “Not at all! It’s really nice. They have so much fun together.”

Shadow hummed in agreement. They resumed their quiet observance as their boyfriends ended the argument by storming off in opposite directions, neither of them seeming to notice that the other Links were there.

“I like Blue.” Shadow said abruptly, turning his full attention onto Red, who in turn did the same.

Red nodded, “I think I knew that!” He paused when Shadow smiled, then added, “I like Vio, too.”

“Hmm.” Shadow hummed. There was a short pause as the dark Link seemed to consider his words, and Red tilted his head expectantly.

“Do you like me?”

Red grinned, endeared to how Shadow’s voice faltered slightly. Usually Vio only got to see this nervous, cute side of him, Red felt giddy that now those traits were directed at him. He confirmed with one dip of his head, still smiling.

“Yeah. A lot.”

Shadow let out a long breath, like a huge weight had just been lifted off of him in just a few seconds. Red giggled softly, feeling something similar.

“Nice. And, uh… Yeah. You too.” Shadow stammered, fidgeting with some grass under his hands. Red scooted closer.

“Think Blue and Vio will be okay with that?”

Shadow thought for a second, then nodded shortly. “They’re stubborn as hell, but they’ll come around.” He paused, thinking about how long it took Blue to give into Red’s affection, and added, “Eventually.”

He looked over to Red for confirmation, and was surprised at how close he had moved towards him. They both lay on their bellies, arms crossed under their chest, looking into each other’s eyes, only a few breaths apart. They both leaned in simultaneously, no doubt laced within their actions, and met in a chaste, closed eyed kiss, and stayed that way for a few seconds before pulling back to share flushed smiles.

Wow, what would Green say?

~~

**“WHAT?!”**

For the first time ever, Vio and Blue spoke with the same volume.

They were currently settled down on the floor of a small inn in a farming village. There were only four rooms, three of them already being booked, so all five Links were sharing a room with only two beds. There had been some arguing on who should sleep where. Blue was mortified when Red started tugging on his tunic and whining to the others about how they HAVE to share a bed for REASONS, Shadow felt he and Vio deserved a bed since they fought off the most dark forces during the day, and Green was resigned to making a choice for all of them and be hated by at least two Links for an undetermined period of time, and ultimately it was decided that Blue and Red will get a bed while Vio and Shadow get the other, and Green would sleep on the floor. A somewhat sore back was a fair trade for whatever grudge would be held against him. He left the other four to their devices to go buy food, since they had gathered enough rupees to afford a hearty meal.

Shadow and Red couldn’t hide their smiles from the astounded reactions from their boyfriends. Since Red started giggling uncontrollably, Shadow took it upon himself to repeat his claim.

“You have our blessings!”

Blue balked, looking an amusing mixture of shocked, appalled, and embarrassed. Vio had his brow furrowed and looked towards the ground, seemingly to be suddenly lost in thought.

“You two seriously think that…!” He shook his head angrily and looked at Red. “I would never do something like that to you! Especially not with,” he sent a dirty look in Vio’s direction, _“…him.”_ To which the purple Link responded with a sharp glare.

Shadow _tsked_ playfully. “We’re not accusing you of cheating, Blue.”

“We’re not accusing you of anything!” Red threw in.

“We just know that you two clearly have some unresolved romantic tensions,” he raised his voice to counter the arguments raised by both Links simultaneously, “and we think you should confront them.”

“Yeah!” Red huffed. “You guys take all your feelings for each other and smoosh them down into a dense, angry little ball of fake hate!” Shadow laughed and agreed, while Blue continued arguing. Vio thought about this logically.

Without the more emotional sides of Link, the affectionate Red and the volatile Shadow, it’s likely that their relationships would never have come this far. There were multiple times when Vio was deceiving Shadow that he felt he was doing the wrong thing, none more so than when he publicly claimed that he was his first friend. It was hard to keep his act up, as he felt himself physically wavering from the unexpected emotion that had struck in him. Through everything that followed, his attempt to destroy the mirror, Shadow’s attempt to execute him, the Links battle with Vaati, and ultimately Shadow sacrificing himself for the good of the Links, the Princess, and all of Hyrule, Vio felt nothing but a strengthening bond towards Shadow. Even then, he would have never acted on his affections beyond being friends and teammates if it wasn’t for Shadow aggressively confessing to him and demanding they start dating. Honestly it was only then that Vio realized what he felt all that time was romantic attraction.

Of course, he didn’t know exactly what happened with Blue and Red, but he could reasonably predict it had to be something similar. What through all the time they spent together trying to find Green, a dependence must had developed. Red made his affections no secret, and eventually tore down Blue’s defensive emotional walls and had him wrapped around his finger.

With little speculation, Vio wondered how he personally felt about Blue. When they had first become four, he felt apprehension towards all of them, but Blue had something of a natural repellant for the purple Link. He knew they were both stubborn, and tied to the idea that they were right no matter what, and that made them butt head most often. Though usually, under the frustration of arguing, Vio felt a kind of fondness when fighting with Blue. It was the only thing that made their relationship bearable. What he felt for Shadow was most easily identifiable as romantic, and by the time it was identified Blue and Red had already started snogging in the woods. He never really gave any attention to how he really felt about Blue.

Then, with a sudden strike of realization, he understood why the two of them brought this up. He felt stupid, which wasn’t something he liked to feel. Red looked up to all the Links, and his adoration was made apparent at any moment. He recalled when Blue would constantly bully him, and he clung to Vio for protection. He always commented on how cool Vio was, and complimented him and anything and everything. He absolutely gushed over him. He was the same to Shadow, and Green. The only difference between how he treated them vs. how he treated Blue was that he added kissing on top of hugs for the latter.

They were still arguing, and he glanced at Shadow, laughing and eyeing Blue coyly as he continued to rile him up. Vio sighed when he realized just how emotionally blind he had been. It’s not just Red, it was Shadow too. It was all of them. He stopped analyzing and came to the obvious conclusion: they all had the hots for each other.

“They’re right.”

The argument hadn’t gone very far, (as Vio made his calculations rather quickly) but it came to a halt as the other three gave Vio a surprised look. Blue was the first to snap out of it.

“They’re _what_?” He questioned. It seemed all his natural aggression had leaked out, replaced by genuine befuddlement.

Vio sighed and turned to fully face Blue. He felt his face heating up when he chided himself that there was no backing out now.

“They’re right, Blue. From what I can tell, I feel… Somewhat attached to you.” This was so far on a left field for Vio, he was way out of his comfort zone, especially when Blue was giving him that wide eyed stare of disbelief. He then turned away to confront the initiators of his discomfort.

“And I can gather that you didn’t bring this up just for fun, since this kind of revelation typically has the ability to affect any relationship in a great way.” He folded his arms before continuing. “So, tell us why.”

“Wait-” Blue stammered, trying to regain the control of the situation that he never had, and was ignored as Shadow began speaking.

“Well, it came to our attention that our relationships would be improved if we,” he made a gesture of linking his fingers together, grinning his fanged smile, “came together.”

Vio nodded, expecting as much. “I see.”

“Hold on-” Blue was ignored yet again.

“So, what do you guys think?” Red asked cheerfully, throwing his hands in the air as if presenting a very special surprise.

 _“HEY,”_ Blue insisted, raising his voice. He finally caught the attention of the room. “You’re saying that you think Vio and I like each other, so we should date, as well as date you two?”

“More specifically I believe they are saying that the four of us should form a romantic relationship, with no grey areas between any one of us.” Vio supplied helpfully. Shadow and Red nodded.

“That was the idea.” Shadow conceded.

Blue looked at Shadow, bemused. “You wanna date me, too?”

Shadow grimaced. “NO WAY!” Then laughed when Red jabbed him with his elbow, and nodded. “Yeah, duh.”

Blue looked at Red, mind working overtime and still falling behind. “And you… With… Vio?” He made a useless gesture towards the unruffled Link besides him. Red smiled affectionately and nodded.

“Do you have a grasp of the concept now?” Vio asked with mock patience. Blue opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He nodded, looking thoughtfully detached.

Red broke their parallel formation to gently push Shadow aside and scoot in front of his boyfriend, taking his hand and placing it between the two of his.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to, Blue. I’m super happy to just be with you. I’m not trying to say you aren’t enough for me or anything like that, I just think that if you would be happy with this, I would too.” He spoke softly, trying to catch his averted gaze.

Shadow leaned back and looked at Vio. “And, uh, same goes to you.” Shadow said. Vio nodded.

“You know, consent and all that.” Shadow added. Vio nodded.

“D-don’t wanna do anything you don’t.” Shadow stammered. Vio nodded tersely.

“Only if uh, it makes you ha-”

“Yes, Shadow, thank you.” Vio interrupted, effectively quieting his boyfriend.

They sat in quiet for a while, mostly to let the idea sink in and give everyone time to think (mostly Blue). After a few moments, Red looked away from Blue to address Vio.

“What do you think?”

Vio looked to the side, then met gazes with Red, answering thoughtfully. “I think it’s a reasonable idea. I understand that we seem to all have some sort of affection for each other. It would most likely benefit us emotionally since we wouldn’t feel any need to hide feelings, and that would take away unnecessary distractions on the-”

“UUUUGH Vio you are such a NERRRRRD!” Shadow groaned. Vio glared at him.

“-Battlefield.” He finished dryly. Red giggled.

“It’s cute. It’s the only way he can express himself!” Red sang, Vio sighed and looked away. Before Red could continue to gush, Blue finally spoke up.

“Vio.”

The purple Link tried to remain calm as he redirected his attention to the hunched hero.

“Yes?”

“Do you…” He paused, and everyone waited with bated breath for him to continue. He looked up with what can only be described as endearing hesitance, looking unsurely into Vio’s eyes. Vio’s breath caught in his throat.

“… Really feel that way about me?”

Vio’s instinct was to snap at him in some way or another, but he easily pushed it down at how sincere his concern sounded. The way his heartbeat picked up pace was as good of an answer as any.

“Yes.”

That sufficed though. Straight and to the point, dipped with Vio’s brash honesty and ready to serve. The nature that he delivered the answer put Blue at ease with the familiarity.

“Okay. Good.”

There was yet another pause as the Links let this set in, all sorting through what just transpired in their own ways.

“So…” Red broke the silence shyly, “Yes? We’re all together?”

“I believe so.” Vio said, a small smile playing at his lips. Shadow grinned at him and looked to Blue, who nodded.

“It’s weird, but so is all this romance stuff.” He muttered.

Shadow snorted. “Oh please, you and Red are attached at the hip! Maybe now you won’t smother the poor kid with all the love you hide from us.” He went from biting to mock sing song at the last bit, fluttering his eyes teasingly at Blue. Blue flushed.

“N-no!” He uttered, not sure what he was disagreeing with exactly. Red and Shadow laughed at him, and Vio moved closer before he could start yelling at them.

“You said it yourself, Blue,” he said softly, leaning closer to the heated hero, “‘You get used to it.’” Then bumped foreheads, pausing short of his intentions to give Blue time to stop him. He didn’t, and Vio closed the distance to kiss him gently. Blue melted.

The moment didn’t last, as Red and Shadow made a ruckus wolf whistling and cat calling. The two Links split with red faces and chastised the others, unable to hold back their smiles.

All four of them were cut off when light poured into the dimly lit room as the door opened, Green standing there with a bag full of food. The atmosphere made him stop short of coming in, pausing mid step. He looked at the four of them all sitting on the floor in an unusually tight bundle, and they looked right back at him. Eventually Green cautiously stepped into the room, closing the door.

“What’s going on guys…?” He asked hesitantly.

Vio answered for all of them with a casual shrug, standing up. “Not much. Let’s eat.”

And they did.

~~

The odds remained the same, figuratively speaking. But now they had conspired, and were working together. The threat was made that much greater.

Green was surrounded by polyamorous gays.

When they broke it to him, he was rather nonplussed. Why not? He wondered. Just why not merge their relationships with another version of themselves into a relationship with three other versions of themselves? Why not?

At the time, he just shook his head, made a remark about how they had better behave in the tent, and went off into the woods to hunt dark forces. They all agreed that it was about on par with the result they had been expecting.

They had reached point B of their route, and started the trip back to Castle Town. On their way, they took care of any dark forces they met, helped various people for monetary gain or just because that’s what heroes do, and there was lots of experimental moves with the new relationships between the Links.

Red was a kisser. Everyone knew that, since he made a point to kiss Blue at every possible opportunity. Now he developed habits with his new boyfriends as well. He would try to kiss Shadow, who would respond by floating just out of each, body pointed up in the air so Red couldn’t drag him back down. He would laugh at Red’s adorable attempts to jump and kiss him, and eventually grabbed him into a breath-taking smooch, with much more intensity than Red’s charming little peck. When timed properly, it left Red with jelly legs. His ritual with Vio was much less time consuming, and therefore acted on more often. He went to kiss Vio’s cheek, who would either lean away or block the advance. Red would then pout and Vio would sigh, and succumbed to allowing Red his kiss.

Blue continued fighting with Shadow and Vio, but seemed somewhat more willing to submit. He was gentler, like he had been with Red. Green had worried that he would back off completely, also like he had done with Red, and feared that all his anger would now be directed towards him exclusively. This thought dissipated quickly, since even though Blue was easier to sway, he still stood firm on his side of whatever argument was initiated. Along with this change came that most meagre scrambles ended with being dragged into the woods by whomever he was fighting to relieve the tension and end the fracas in the way everyone always wanted to do with Blue.

Except Green. He corrected his inner reflections hastily. He did NOT always want to resolve petty arguments with Blue by snogging him.

The five Links were back in Castle Town, having been met by an intimate welcome party by the Princess. Only friends and family were allowed in. There were sparkling drinks, plenty of food, and music played by one of the royal ensembles. While Green, Blue, and Vio thought it was a bit much considering they were only out doing rounds, Shadow and Red were ecstatic about the festivities. It didn’t take much for the other three to join them. After all, Zelda herself arranged this for them. They were going to show their beloved childhood friend how much it meant to them.

There was catching up with the guards and their father, trading stories about what happened in town while they were away and tales of their adventures in the wilds. Everyone had a particularly hearty laugh at Green’s retelling of when Shadow unknowingly manifested in the middle of a battle with a small horde of moblins, nearly got taken out by a rogue bomb, and quickly retreated into the Shadow Realm. Shadow grumbled as all the guards slapped him on the back while laughing, though it was clear he was enjoying himself.

In the beginning, not once were all Links in the same place. When they were socializing, Zelda came in picking one out and trading the other in, insisting they all have at least one dance with her. Blue was her last victim, and good thing too since he stepped on her foot so hard she started bouncing in place in a very unroyal way as Blue fell all over himself apologizing and helping her sit down.

She was quick to laugh it off, although a bit embarrassed she acted out in such a way. She requested Blue make it up to her by rounding up the other four and plucking them away from their pissing match with the guards to join her at the table for drinks. Once they were all settled, drinks in hand, she couldn’t hold back her sly smile as she looked around at her content, chatting friends.

“So,” She started, gaining their attention. “A couple of you told me the big news.”

“Big news?” Green asked over his cup. “You mean that crown we found buried in the desert? Why is that big news? Is it important?” Green got himself riled up. He just knew that thing would eventually be McGuffin!

“What? No, no,” Zelda laughed, watching Green visibly deflate of his excitement.

“Oh.”

She made a little noise of joy, practically vibrating in her seat in happiness, then giddily sang “All five of Hyrule’s heroes, now the biggest power couple in Hylian history!”

Green choked on his drink and fell into a coughing fit. Red slapped his back unhelpfully while Blue laughed raucously at the display.

“I believe you have some details of that mixed up, princess.” Vio informed, smirking.

“I am _NOT_ ,” Green rasped between coughs, “…a PART of this…”

“Yeah, we knew better than to go for him.” Shadow smiled, then leaned on Vio in a dramatic display of self-woe. “He’s far too out of our league.”

Vio tolerated the new weight and nodded as he took a drink. “It’s true.”

“Is NOT!” Blue shouted. “Out of our league? By the Three’s hands he is!”

Red turned to a bemused Zelda, smiling. “He doesn’t feel that way.” He informed her concisely.

“Ah, I see.” She responded.

Green gaped at them all. They were almost talking like they _wanted_ him to be a part of this.

“Well, either way!” She continued once all the comments died down, “I think it’s great! Green or no Green, you all make a cute… quadruple?” She laughed, and the others joined. Except for one.

Suddenly Green felt lonely, even surrounded by his closest friends.

~~

He tried to fix his seemingly irrational feelings by spending more alone time with Zelda, which he had been waiting to do for days now. The feeling ebbed, and soon he didn’t think about it anymore. He had missed Zelda so much, and she returned the sentiment. When the short celebration was over, Green informed the other Links that he would be staying around later in order to spend time with the princess. They took this at face value and retired to their quarters. Momentarily Green felt that pang once again.

Green was waiting outside of Zelda’s room, leaning against the wall with arms crossed and foot tapping. He was waiting for her to change out of her formal attire into something more casual. She said she had something planned for them, and he was itching to find out what.

His head snapped up when the door opened, and he looked on in surprise when Zelda stepped out. She was in a red tunic and hat… Actually, those looked exactly like Red’s clothes.

“Zelda… What-?”

“Shh…” She shushed softly, tucking her long blonde hair under the hat. “Call me Red.”

Green put the pieces together. When they were younger she would disguise herself as a peasant girl so they could run about in public undisturbed. It took a long time, but eventually one of the castle’s head cook saw through the ruse, and they hadn’t pulled the trick since. Once she felt her appearance was properly hidden, she held out her arms with a smile.

“How do I look?”

Green regarded her, up and down, then stepped forward and placed his hands on her waist, adjusting her belt downwards.

“The belt was up too high. Your hips are more noticeable than Red’s.” He said when he pulled away. He looked at her again, missing the new pinkness of her cheeks as he nodded in approval.

“Perfect. Now, what’s the occasion?”

She smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him along behind her. “Let’s just take a walk.”

That sounded wonderful.

~~

Zelda sighed as the two companions wove between the trees behind the royal garden, admiring the dark scenery. She had a quiet fairy accompany them to provide a light to see, and it gave their surroundings a pleasant soft glow. For a long time, the two of them walked in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. Then Zelda stopped, and sat down on the grass under a tree. Green stopped himself and joined her. They sat shoulder to shoulder, looking out at the dark outline of the castle in the distance.

“Are you okay?”

The question caught Green off guard, and he looked at Zelda, who was giving him a caring and somewhat concerned look. He laughed nervously.

“Yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Zelda leaned against him slightly, and he gulped. “You’ve been acting strange since you got back.”

“Have… Have I?” Green was genuinely confused. He was unaware he was behaving odd.

“Yes. You’re usually the life of the party in any situation, but you’ve just been hanging back and letting the others have all the fun.”

Zelda noticed that Green’s expression changed in just the slightest when she mentioned the “others.” She tilted her head thoughtfully, and continued in a gentle tone.

“Is it because of their relationship?”

Green was about to bark out a no, but looking at the sincerity on Zelda’s face made him falter. He sighed.

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

Zelda nodded. “I understand.”

Green laughed a little too loudly, a little too nervously. “You understand? Really?”

Zelda offered a little smile, and looked away. “I do. I think I felt the same when I thought… That you were a part of it.” She turned her head away from him, feeling a little giddy with embarrassment.

Green looked at the side of her head for a moment, unsure what to say. He licked his lips, and tried to find the words. “Oh.” He uttered in place of an intelligence response.

Zelda looked back at him, smile wavering. “Do you understand?”

“… Yeah.”

“What do you think?” Zelda asked softly. When had she moved so close to his face?

“About…?” Green asked hesitantly, heart thumping louder than rational thought.

“About me feeling bad about you being in a relationship… Because I’m selfish… And I like you… And I thought you left me behind…”

“Oh.” Green choked out. “That. Right. You aren’t selfish.” It was in his DNA to correct her self doubt.

“But I am…” Zelda insisted quietly. “Look, I’ll show you.”

Apparently to prove to him how selfish she was meant kissing him. The elation he felt told him distantly that there was nothing selfish about this. She pulled away before he could reciprocate in any way. When he opened his eyes he briefly wondered why Red had just kissed him, before coming to his right senses.

“That wasn’t selfish.” Green blurted out.

Zelda laughed, a little too softly, a little too nervously. “Really?”

“Of course not.” Green was running on autopilot. “I think I’m the selfish one.”

Zelda tilted her head, silently prompting him to elaborate. He took a shaky breath.

“Because I’ve wanted to kiss you for years. Kissing you just now was… fantastic. But just then, for a split second, I almost wished you really were Red.”

Zelda smiled. Green felt a jolt through him when he realized what her face meant, reading it like a familiar book. It meant everything just fell in place, everything went according to her prophetic plans. Along with that look was the relief that she was right to choose this path.

“Is there anyone else you want to kiss?” She was teasing him now. She was assured that everything was going correctly, and Green was still reeling with confusion.

“What are you trying to say?”

“You know what I mean.”

Green felt agitated now. He didn’t like being played, even by Zelda. “You’re trying to say I should add on to the increasingly gay pile of Links.”

She laughed out loud at this, causing the fairy floating vacantly above them to startle. “That is ABSOLUTELY what I’m saying!” She forced out between laughs. Green was still unamused, too busy putting the pieces together.

“But then… What about you?”

Zelda stopped laughing. She gave him a serious look. “You had better not abandon me for them.”

“But… How would that work?”

“Come on now, my courageous little Link, you really think the people in a four-way relationship would oppose to you being with me as well as them?”

Fuck. Wow, fuck. Green was stunned. Dating five people at once? Great Hylia. This was more than he was expecting when he pulled out the Four Sword. Going on a life or death adventure that the entire of Hyrule and all of its inhabitants rely on? Completely fine. He was designed for that. Dealing with conflicting attractions for the split versions of himself? That’s just weird and confusing. Green was cut off mid thought at Zelda’s sly little chuckle.

“And if any of them would like to join us, I wouldn’t be opposed…”

Green was done being surprised. He just gave her an exhausted look in response. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He sighed. This he was used to. They always traded cheek kisses. Ever since they were old enough to understand the sentiment. She then stood up, brushing dirt and grass of her pants.

“Come on, Green. Let’s head back. I’m not asking you to make an immediate decision, I’m just opening your eyes to your options.” She offered her hand, and he took it, allowing himself to be helped to his feet.

They walked back to the castle quietly, not releasing hands. They only spoke to say a farewell to the fairy, who flew off before they entered the royal garden, alight in the soft glow of bioluminescent plants. Green walked Zelda back to her room, where she gave him a warm, meaningful hug.

“Don’t worry too much, Green.” She whispered, holding him by the shoulders when the split, staying pressed against him. “No matter what choice you make, as long as it makes you happy, it’s the right choice.”

He nodded, mouth dry, and considered kissing her again. Deciding this was inappropriate, he just let her go. He watched her disappear into her room, returning her quiet goodnight, and stood there in front of the door for longer than necessary. Eventually he walked back towards his quarters, and heard the murmuring of the other Links from Blue’s room. He moved past his door and listened, surprised they were still awake. He couldn’t hear anything past the thick walls without being actively suspicious, and felt his hand reaching for the handle. He rested it on the chilly metal, and contemplated entering. Shaking his head, he retreated to his room, falling asleep the second he met his bed.

~~  
The next day, all the Links sensed Green’s unease, but no one was sure what was causing it. He was quiet and distant, only participating in conversations when one of the Links questioned if he was listening or okay, then he went right back to his detached state. Red kept poking him for answers out of concern, but got waved away with a laugh each time. Vio had to intervene to tell him to drop it, Red reluctantly obeying.

When Green broke from the group to go train in the courtyard, Blue watched him go before excusing himself to chase after him. The others were resigned to letting whatever was to go on between them happen.

Green went out into the training grounds, waving to the guards and taking a stand in front of a training dummy in an unoccupied corner of the courtyard. He reached behind his head to draw his sword, and startled when a hand closed around his wrist. Whirling around, he exhaled sharply when he met Blue’s hard gaze.

“Blue. Hylia, you scared me.”

“Green,” Blue started, and slowly let his grip drop. 

“Wh-what?” Green stammered, slightly shaken by Blue’s serious tone. He internally cursed himself for being so openly wavering.

Blue looked down, and when he met Green’s gaze again, his expression had changed. His brows furrowed in concern, eyes soft. Green felt his face heat up. He usually only reserved this look for Red.

“What’s going on with you?” 

Green wished he could dematerialize into a different dimension like Shadow could. There obviously wasn’t any escaping this one. The morning before he got out of bed to confront the day, he wondered if he should tell anyone by running through scenarios in his head. He had been silently going over them all day.

Realistically, Red would be the best choice. It would be embarrassing since he would get way too happy and latch onto Green like a morth, but despite the initial reaction, he knew Red would keep quiet about it and respect his need to ease into things. He had proven in many instances that contrary to common belief, he was easily the most emotionally mature of all of them.

Vio would be his next go to. Sure, he would casually tease Green occasionally, and forever give him sideways smirks when no one was looking, but he would be even less conspicuous about the whole thing than Red, considering he didn’t have the need to be overly affectionate.

Shadow… Absolutely not. That guy could not - and most likely would not - keep a secret, most likely to run away to inform the others before Green finished his sentence. By far the most emotionally open of all of them, discrete wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Blue was the wild card. Green genuinely didn’t have an inkling about how he would react. Laugh at him? Probably not, but who knows. Be disgusted? Maybe not openly, but he seemed the least inclined to reciprocate the sentiment. Many plausible scenarios passed through his head, and very few of them pleasant. This made his heart contract. Putting some brutally honest thought into it, Green realized he cared what Blue thought the most. Right now, one on one with a concerned Blue, and trying to fumble with an answer to his inquiry, Green understood this more than ever.

“What… Do you mean?” Green answered lamely, after a few moments. Blue rolled his eyes.

“Cut the bullshit, Green. You aren’t as stoic as you think. Something’s on your mind, and it’s really bugging you. What’s wrong?” Blue crossed his arms and waited a second for an answer, before adding, “Tell me or I’ll tell Shadow that you’re the one who fed his dinner to a deer.”

It wasn’t exactly a worrying threat, but it was enough to make Green crack a smile and chuckle a bit, which is what Blue intended. The serious Link tried to hold back his smile at achieving getting Green to relax.

“Alright. Well… Zelda and I… We went into the woods last night…” He started. Blue’s face lit up in attention, caught off guard. 

“Wha-... Really? Is that why you stayed out late?”

“Well, sort of. I didn’t plan it, I just wanted to spend some time with her.”

“Wait,” Blue interjected quickly, holding up his hand, face struck with realization. “Wait, did she disguise herself as Red?”

Green squirmed, unnerved by Blue having this knowledge. “Y-yeah? How did you…?”

“She asked Red for one of his tunics before the party!” Blue recalled, “We asked why, but she just said it was a secret.” Blue let this sink in for both of them, before smiling fondly. “Guess that’s a step up from a peasant girl, huh?”

Green smiled nervously, reminded once again that him and his team all had the exact same memories because they were all the exact same person, all of which he was discovering romantic feelings for. What a day.

“So what happened? Did she tell you something important?” Blue suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Surely not another quest, right? I will fucking burst you if you’ve been keeping something like that secret from us since last night…”

“No, no! Of course not!” Green hastily assured. “No, nothing like that…”

“Then what?” Blue sighed, getting tired of trying to get Green to spill. Then he realized what this must be. The one thing the courageous Link got more worked up over than anything else.

“Green… Did something… Personal happen?” Blue asked quietly, tone implying his meaning. Green flushed.

“L-like what?” Green laughed, not sure what playing dumb would achieve in this situation, but doing it anyway.

“Shit, I don’t know! Did you confess your love? Did she? Did you kiss? Did you fuck? Did you pledge to run off into the wild to elope at a fairy fountain!?” Blue threw his hands in the air, exclaiming his irritation far too loudly for Green’s liking, who rushed to shush him before the guards nearby heard.

“Blue, shut up!” Green hissed, slapping his hand over the offensive mouth. He yelped and withdrew when Blue bit him, and was about to snap at him before thinking twice (pick your battles, Green), and sighed.

“Yeah, she kissed me.”

Blue dropped his aggression, and tilted his head. “That’s great, Green. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“I thought so. I mean… Yeah, it was. Is. I just…” Blue stepped forward in concern when Green made a hopeless gesture with his arms. “I just… Things got complicated.”

“Complicated, how?” Blue asked softly.

“Well…” Green sighed, deciding a firm now or never, and rushed out “I may also like someone else.”

“Wha-”

“More than that. More than someone else.”

“Who-”

“Four someone elses, actually. And Zelda knows that and she’s okay with that and even encourages me to be with the four someone elses and her if the four someone elses are also okay with that, and maybe also involving her with some or all of the four someone elses if they want that and if I’m also okay with that which somehow I think I might be but I’m not sure and that’s why it’s complicated.”

Blue blinked, dumbfounded. While Green fidgeted nervously, Blue tried to make sense of all the words that were just spit out at him.

“So… Alright so you actually do want to be with the rest of us, but also with Zelda, and Zelda is also interested in our relationship?” Blue looked at him with a tight brow. “Did I get that right?”

Green wanted to die, but he nodded instead.

Blue nodded slowly. “Okay… Then, uh, what’s the problem exactly?”

Green’s jaw dropped. “ ‘What’s the problem?!’ The problem is…!” He groaned loudly, wanting nothing more than to slice an entire horde of bokoblins in half. “I don’t know what the problem is! I guess I thought you guys didn’t like me, that’s a problem, and even if you did I would have to choose between you and Zelda, that’s another, and… Well…! There’s a lot more but I don’t want to talk about them!” He ended, voice rising in pitch over the course of his fit before it cracked like he was twelve and he ended with a childish pout.

“Well… I guess I don’t speak for everyone, but I wouldn’t mind you dating us and Zelda.” He paused and shifted his weight when Green gave him a stunned look. “Oh, fuck off. You look like a paralyzed chuchu. You know how I feel about you.”

“WHAT?!” Green squawked. “I mean, I guess not! You never said anything!”

Blue bulked. “Why should I have to?! I thought it was obvious, you dense moron!”

“It wasn’t,” Green seethed, more red than Din’s blessing. “You’ve treated me the same way since we first split! How is that ‘obvious?!’ ” 

“I… I-I…!” Blue spluttered in embarrassed rage, more red than a pure healing potion. “Hell, I don’t know! Fuck, Green! I’m making it obvious now, so now you know!” As Blue was never one to be all talk and no action, he grabbed Green in a tight embrace and kissed him, almost violently.

Green was having a bit of an out of body experience. He acknowledge he was being kissed, but his only thought was a distant _“Alright, I guess that is pretty obvious.”_  
When Blue backed off, he was still fuming and flushed horribly. 

“There.” He spat. “You get it now?”

Green opened his mouth to answer, closed it, swallowed, and nodded.

Blue attempted to calm himself down, taking a few sharp breaths. “Well, good, then.” He looked away from Green, brow furrowed. “And I can assure you, there’s three others who feel the same.”

Green looked for something smart to say, but just fumbled out an “Oh.”

Blue felt way too vulnerable out in the open after such a display, and Greens gaping-like-a-dead-fish routine wasn’t helping matters. He quickly turned around.

“Come back in whenever. I won’t say anything to the others.” And he stalked away, towards the castle, leaving his team leader in a stunned daze in the courtyard.   
Blue did his best to ignore the grinning guards he passed by.

~~ 

No one questioned when Blue came storming back in and rushed straight to his room.

~~ 

No one saw much of Green for the rest of the day. He didn't attend dinner, with Zelda vouching for him, explaining he was meeting with village friends. No one really believed that, but knew better then to challenge her. Blue had returned to the group quietly, and answered only with “Green bein’ a dick” too queries of what happened.

It was a fairly tense dinner. 

Partway in Shadow materialized with a loud groan, surprising everyone. 

“Holy _fuck_ ,” he started abrasively, ignoring Vio’s harsh hiss of _“language!”_

“Why is everyone actin’ like this?! So Green is being a baby, lighten up!” He gave a knowing glance to Zelda, who smiled.

She looked around the table at the Links, and her close royal guards. She sat up, clearing her throat, putting on her most serious royal expression.

“Yes. Holy fuck indeed.”

Red and Blue burst into laughter, and Shadow nudged Vio to point out the irony, making him smile and shake his head.

The rest of the meal went smoothly from there.

~~

Just like the previous night, Green found he was fighting with himself in front of a door separating him from his team, this time they were holed up in Vio’s room. Unlike last night, however, he was feeling much more sure of himself.

A few hours earlier he had been wandering the woods beyond the castle yet again. He didn't want to be this obvious in how hard he was avoiding the others, but he also didn't want to confront them until he had sorted this out. He was reaching a conclusion, but was still holding onto some incredibly stubborn doubt he just couldn't shake.

“Hmmm…”

Green startled violently at the voice from behind him, grabbing his sword and swinging around to face an unperturbed Shadow, standing with his hands on his hips and looking skeptically at the trees surrounding them.

“Shadow?! By Hylia you nearly-”

“This doesn't look like castle town.”

Green faltered, then slowly reached back to sheath his sword, sighing. “Yeah, yeah no. No it doesn't. You're right.”

Shadow laid his gaze on Green, his dark red eyes glimmering in the low light. Green swallowed, throat suddenly irredeemably dry. The thing about Shadow Realm inhabitants, they look practically ethereal under the moon. Shadow seemed to be emitting a soft purple light, his features were so defined, and how had Green never noticed how feathery his hair looked? 

By the Three, he really didn't need this right now.

Shadow tilted his head at Green’s stricken expression, and smirked. 

“Jeez, Green. You look like you've seen a poe.” He stopped Green’s response and interrupted with a raised tone, finger held mockingly to his lips “or like you've seen someone so handsome you're questioning your sexuality!” And shot Green a sideways look with a fanged grin.

Green attempted to sound appalled but instead let out a noise not entirely unlike a wounded wolfos.

Shadow did not hold back his laugh, throwing his head back in mirth. Green stumbled over his words, but gathered himself with an angry flush.

“Shadow, what the hell.”

Shadow grinned at him and shrugged. “We can cut to the chase here. I know you’re interested in me, and three others too!” He ignored Green’s shocked expression and pushed on. “And you’re interested in the princess, and you can bet your bottom rupee you're not alone there, either.” 

“Shadow, what the fuck?!”

“Yeah, I know. At odds with your sexuality, still unsure about how the others feel, want me to break it down for you so you can cut this shit out or what?”

“Hold up. First, how the hell do you-?”

“You can't expect me to not supervise Blue when he tries to play the concerned friend, can you? Last time he was left to that role he punched Vio in the face and they gave each other the silent treatment for days.”

Green glared at him, wide eyed and flushed in anger. “Y-you mean…”

“I sure do! I was there for that whole ridiculous spectacle. It was pretty adorable, honestly.”

Green got ready to shout at him for invading not just his privacy, but Blue's as well, when Shadow held up a silencing hand.

“Every guard in the courtyard saw, Green. Get over it. Do you want to hear the details or not?” Shadow just wanted to get on with what he came to do.  
Green considered, then decided arguing with Shadow when he was like this was useless. He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, silently signaling him to get on with it.

“Good. Alright, Let's start with Blue, since you already have his input on the matter.” He waved his hand passively. “I'll be as blunt as possible, since you seem to be struggling over the tiniest things.” He cleared his throat importantly. “Blue is reluctantly bisexual, like you, I assume. Since light dwellers are obsessed with a man and a women being married and shit he thought that's how it had to be, but whoops Red is a cute little fucker and turned him towards the truth. He still likes girls, though he certainly doesn't like the princess. He thinks of her as a sister. He is liplockingly into you, as you know.

“Red is kind of aggressively pansexual. Boy, girl, zoran, goron, even a fucking sentient chuchu if it's nice to him. Kid has the biggest heart in Hyrule. He is very into the princess, and very into you. Has been since we split, practically. 

“Vio is super gay. Well, not super, really. Vio is very low-key gay. I mean, he's not romantic. I used to figure he was asexual, till he told me otherwise. Relationships are like strategic missions to him, figuring who he works with best and how he works with them. It's fucking cute. Obviously not into the princess, and as into you as he can be.

“Then there's yours truly! I'm pansexual, there's just never really been anyone aside from you guys and the princess who's been in my personal space. I'm uh, pretty into Zelda. Tried not to be when I was holding her hostage. Kinda like Vio refused to be gay at me when he held me metaphorically hostage! And, yeah.” He smiled at Green. “I'm pretty damn into you. Ergo,” He held his hands out in a shrug. “We all dig you, Green.”

Green had been focused on Shadow's lecture as hard as he could, soaking in the information. Now he looked towards his boots, brow furrowed, face slightly flushed.

“... I see.” He whispered. Shadow smiled warmly. He stepped forward to Green, and pinned him to the tree with a single hand placed by his head. He straight up wall slammed him. Green looked up in surprise at Shadow, now very much in his personal space.

“Ya get it now, bonehead?” He asked softly. Green just swallowed and nodded, eyes dedicated on Shadow's lips. Shadow smiled, and leaned forward slow enough to have time to be rejected. To his utter delight, he was instead met halfway. Both Links kept their respective distance as they sealed the final mental push Green needed with a kiss. When Shadow pulled away he laughed at Green’s uneasy blinking.

“Damn, Green. You're going around necking everyone! What a dog.” And he continued laughing as he melted away into Green’s shadow.

Green fell partially limp against the tree, letting his head bonk against the bark. Okay. Time to confront his team it would seem.

~~

That's how he ended up opening the door to Vio’s room with a new confidence. All the Links stopped their chatting and looked up to see who had just entered. Vio was on his bed reading a book, Red snuggled into his side, and Blue and Shadow were on the floor, playing some card game. Green looked around at their faces, all focused on him, and shut the door behind him without turning around. They sat to higher attention.

“Hi.” Green greeted. He is met with a chirpy “Hi!” from Red, Shadow over powering him in volume with a question. “So, finally going to face the music?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

Vio closed his book, understanding the situation. Red gave a confused look to the room, getting the feeling that he was the only one who was uninformed. 

“I, uh, I’m not sure how to-”

“Guys, he wants to be gay with us.” Shadow informed simply. Before Green could redeem himself in anyway, Red let out a loud excited noise and jumped off of the bed, clinging onto Green while bouncing up and down in glee.

“Oh, Green! Finally! Now all of us can be together!” He shouted in joy. Before anyone could stop him (Green was looking pretty shell shocked) Red gave Green a loving kiss on the cheek before burying his head in his shoulder, giggling giddily. Green vaguely heard Blue mutter something like "about fucking time"

Green unsurely put his arms around Red, thinking that was the best route to take in this situation. Looking up from his new affectionate attachment, he saw the three other Links smirking at him. He flushed harder.

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

Red let go of him, still grinning ear to pointed ear, then tried to put on a serious face. “There’s an initiation if you want to be with us.”

Green looked at him doubtfully. “Oh, really?” He glanced to Vio for confirmation, and was startled to find him nodding solemnly. Looking back to Red, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“What is it?”

Vio spoke up for the first time. “You have to beat all of us at poker.”

Green huffed out a laugh. “You’re kidding.”

Blue shook his head. “It was decided. You’re the last one, all of us voted. Beat us at poker, Green.”

Green felt affronted. “What about Zelda?! If she decides to stick a leg in with us are you going to make her beat you at poker?”

Shadow laughed, responding with the voice he uses when he mocks light dwellers. “Of course not! She’s the princess! It would be an honor just to have her even think about being with us, we wouldn’t want to spoil that with something so ridiculous.”

“I see how it is.” Green muttered, then plopped to the ground with a resigned groan. “Deal me in, then.” As the other Links joined the circle, Blue distributed the cards.

~~

The game went on all night, but around 3 AM, Green had four new boyfriends.

~~

**Author's Note:**

> might write a second chapter with more elaborate fluff of the five of them and zelda being tangled up in their relationship if yall want. just give me a holler in the comments if you do
> 
> warning: i might do it even if no one wants it


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